New educational curricula are regularly put into practice worldwide; and the issues related to curriculum design are frequently discussed from a pedagogical perspective. However, the processes involved in preparing a statewide English as a foreign language (EFL) curriculum are rarely elaborated from an inside view. As the experiences of program designers may provide insight on meeting the challenges of diverse teaching contexts, this article systematically describes the procedures that took place in preparing an elementary EFL curriculum for Turkish state schools, focusing on the political, pedagogical and contextual factors affecting the implementation. Suggestions and guidelines are offered on the basis of insights arising from the process.